Of Monsters and Men perform acoustic version of “Mountain Sound”

While Of Monsters and Men had musical aspirations, they never dreamed they’d be full time musicians.

“I always wanted to do it but it just felt silly to say it because it’s just so unrealistic,” said vocalist and guitarist Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir.

The six piece indie folk band experienced swift success after winning a national battle of the bands competition in Iceland back in 2010. Since then their single “Little Talks” from their debut studio album My Head Is An Animal has topped Billboard’s alternative chart.

The group performed a live acoustic session of “Mountain Sound” for Making Waves. They told ANDPOP they never intended to make an album at first — they just wanted to write songs and word quickly spread.

They also had some apt advice for musicians. While many artists throw off romantic affirmations like “follow your dreams,” vocalist and guitarist Ragnar Þórhallsson is a little more practical: “Do it because you want to do it and make music that you yourself like and not that you think everyone else will like,” he said. “Like my dad always says, just keep on keeping on.”

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Brittany Mahaney is a regular contributor to ANDPOP.com and the former Online Editor. She obsesses over cat videos and boy bands, and often ends up on the weird part of the internet. You can follow her on twitter at @britt_mahaney or brittanymahaney.com.